From VOA Learning English, welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

And I'm Christopher Cruise.

This week on our program we take you to a night market in Los Angeles. We also talk about LA's Chinatown with a best-selling author who writes about the lives of Chinese immigrants.

Then, we take you to a beach near Los Angeles where, once a year, surfing mixes with religion. And later we find out why many television and film productions are leaving Hollywood.

Night Markets in California

Night markets in Asia are places where people enjoy street food and social gatherings.

"This is something we need."

In Southern California, the 626 Night Market in Los Angeles reminds George Ge of a night market in Taiwan.

"Everything is cheap and food, not very clean but taste awesome."

Six-two-six is the telephone area code for a mostly Asian neighborhood of Los Angeles. Jonny Hwang is one of the organizers of the 626 Night Market.

"Thailand, China, Korea, Japan have different variations of it. It's a staple of Asian societies there. Night markets have been around every day, every weekend. Thousands of people, people of all ages, families come out to have a good, safe time."

The 626 Night Market is like a market in Asia but it has a Los Angeles style. Aileen Xu enjoys it.

"What we have here is literally a huge melting pot, it's a fusion of all different Asians, and I mean, I think it's really representative of the Asian American population in L.A. because we're not all Chinese. We're, you know, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese. We're everything and we're mixed, and we have, we even have foods that are like Asian Latino."

And there is another difference with the night markets in Asia. This one in Los Angeles does not happen regularly. Jonny Hwang has only been able to organize a few night markets so far.

"Having this type of event of this scale in America, in LA, is very difficult. It's not like Asia where the rules are lax and you can almost do anything. Here, it's a lot more structured."

He wants this night market to be held more often. He says it is a social event, but also good for the local economy.